horrific

adjective

hor·​rif·​ic hȯ-ˈri-fik 

hä-

: having the power to horrify

a horrific account of the tragedy

horrifically

hȯ-ˈri-fi-k(ə-)lē 

hä-

adverb

Synonyms

• gruesome
• shocking
• horrible
• terrible
• nightmare
• horrifying
• frightening

Examples of horrific in a Sentence

horrific images of the devastation spurred many people to give generously

Recent Examples on the Web

Throughout the Holocaust, the Nazis concentrated European Jews in urban ghettos, which were marked by horrific living conditions, forced labor and the threat of execution. —Tom Dreisbach, NPR, 30 June 2025

And that's a tough sell to a jury that spent weeks listening to horrific testimony about Diddy and his empire. —Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 29 June 2025

Through Season 1’s horrific gantlet of murderous kids’ games, his exterior is scraped away with a rusty edge until all that’s left is a flawed but good man. —Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025

Attenborough, at age ninety-nine, reflects on his iconic career, including the horrific declines and astonishing recoveries he’s witnessed over decades of immersion in the planet’s diverse oceanic ecology. —Audiofile Magazine june 27, Literary Hub, 27 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & Latin; French horrifique, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Latin horrificus "inspiring awe or dread, frightening," from horrēre "to be stiffly erect, bristle, shudder, shiver" + -i- -i- + -ficus -fic — more at horror entry 1

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for horrific

• pacific
• prolific
• salvific
• specific
• terrific
• calorific
• conspecific
• hieroglyphic
• honorific
• nonspecific
• scientific
• soporific